Title: I just got done with my first PL meet and boy are my arms tired. Actually, boy are my legs tired would be more accurate. My feeble bench really precludeds much arm fatigue. Anyway. So there I was. Having matched him squat for squat and bench for bench, it came down to Ed Coan and I on the final deadlift. Nevermind that he's in the 242's and I was in the 181's, I was his only real competition of the day. So I'm approaching the bar with an easy 900, hands good and chalked.....when the alarm went off at 5am. Ok, har har, that's my feeble attempt at humor. And it's actually not true in the first place. I managed, more or less, to get zero sleep the night before the competition. No, it wasn't from nerves or anything like that. I didn't take the PL meet seriously enough in the first place to lose sleep over it (I always used to tweak out my in-line skating teammate to death when I'd sleep as late as possible the day of a competition). Nope, my sleep patterns simply got totally reversed this past week, not sleeping at night, sleeping a lot during the day (thank grog I only had one writing assigment due, but I wasn't even able to finish that on deadline). I'm not sure if it was coming off of ephedrine (I always crash), or being a bit overtrained (that's right bright boy, try to diet and train for a Pl contest at the same time) or cycling into another depressive or manic state. Point being I didn't get any sleep. But no excuses, it was time to compete and with enough stimulants, I can do just about anything. First, the thanks -------------------- Before going any further with this, I want to give major thanks to two individuals: Elzi Volk and Keith Hobman. Elzi accompanied me to the meet (including waking up at 4:45 am to meet me at my apartment so we could drive down to the meet venue) and watched my stuff, took pictures, gave feedback, etc. She is most thanked for her efforts. Keith Hobman was nice enough to give me some training advice as well as, and somewhat more importantly, meet advice (in terms of planning attemps, how to increase them, etc). He was nice enough to share his knowledge and expertise with me and it is most appreciated. Also, I should mention that Gary Pendegrass and Seguin Fitness (http://www.seguinfitness.com) ran an excellent meet. It actually started on time and ran very smoothly. The weights were loaded and unloaded quickly, the judging was fair (and fairly strict although Elzi and I agreed there were a few questionable passed lifts) and consistent, and the spotters saved a few folks from getting crushed when they weight didn't go up. While I initially laughed at their scheduled 4pm awards for a 9am competition (most PL meets run hours over and there are horror stories of 8 and 10 hour PL meets out there), they were actually very close to schedule. One huge flight (that included all the open men's bench press only folks) ran late but they were probably done by 5pm (Elzi and I had ditched for dinner at that point). Overall, just an excellent meet ; they had their act together and it really showed. Considering how badly most meets seem to go (in terms of staying on schedule), I have to give them the props they are due for running a top notch meet. Ok, back to the story ------------------------- Before describing the meet, I should probably back up a bit. My desire to enter a PL meet originally started out of an informal competition with someone on misc.fitness.weights (there was also to be a picture judged bodybuilding contest). While that particular contest didn't happen (for reasons totally unimportant to this story), I had put in enough time and training that I decided to go ahead and do the meet. Figured it was about time I went ahead and did one myself ; partly for fun (and to have a very specific training goal), partly so I could have personal experience in terms of training and competition. Because of the above mentioned contest, my original plan was to come in at 165, go down on Friday to weigh in so I could rehydrate and eat before the contest on Saturday. i ended up not doing that for a bunch of reasons. One, I wouldn't have made it. I was a few pounds over the week before and, as it turned out, their scale was 2 lbs heavier than mine and I still wouldn't have made 165. Two, since the informal contest wasn't being held, there was no reason to worry about scoring points on the Wilke's equation (which normalizes lifting poundages for weight). Finally, and most importantly, it turned out that the meet site was a lot further (about an hour and a half) from where I live than I thought. I didn't relish the idea of driving 2 hours for a 5 minute weigh in when it wouldn't have really mattered either way what I weighed (I wasn't going to be particularly competitive in any weight class). End result was Elzi met me at my house at 6am on Saturday for the drive down to Segin. But, it gets better than that. The singlet ------------- The only required piece of equipment for a powerlifting meet is a singlet, same as a wrestler wears. Now, they can be ordered on the web (http://www.goheavy.com for example) and that would have been the logical thing to do. But I'm not logical and I'm certainly not organized by any stretch about stuff like this. By the time I checked on the web, it was too late to order a singlet. I had called Seguin fitness and they said they had a few of each size but not to count on them having any on the day of the meet. So I found a place here in Austin that sells them. But, like the disorganized moron I am, I waited until Friday to go get it (meet was on Saturday). And by the time I ran all my other million and one errands, the store was closed. Basically, I was screwed and it was nobody's fault but mine. So, as Elzi and I drove down to Segin Saturday morning, I faced the possibility of not being able to buy a singlet and not being able to compete. Bleh. My hope, seriously, was that everyone else at the meet would have their proverbial act together and I'd be the only clueless one without a singlet. Turns out I was right and was able to buy a singlet there (it's darling and blue and I love it with all my heart). Ok, back to the meet -------------------------- So now Elzi and I are at the meet at 7:30 am both pretty wiped out already. Meet turned out to be pretty large, 146 lifters were expected. Two platforms. We expected a looooong day. As I said above, it turned out to be pretty smooth running because the meet directors had their act together. I had already turned in my first lift attempts when I registered (oh yeah, I didn't mail in my registration early either, just another example of sheer disorganization). In kilos. Umm, this is the US Powerlifting Federation and we're lifting in kilos. Dangit, kilos are one of those funky foreign units, right? I don't wanna be foreign. Anyway, they had a nice conversion chart from pounds to kilos so it wasn't too bad. Except making me feel like a dirty foreigner. ;) Rules meeting was at 8am and lifting started promptly at 9am. I was in the third flight. As a novice, I was put into the 'Below' class although I'm not entirely sure what I was supposed to be below. Skilled? Good? I'm still not 100% sure. And even less sure why they don't call it novice. The squat ------------ This made timing of warmups a little difficult (as well as timing of meals and ergogenic aids, which refers to my tyrosine/caffeine booster since ephedrine is banned). I figured I'd time the length of the flight before me to get a gauge. Worked out pretty well but I ended up coming off my last squat warmup about 30 seconds before my first attempt. No problem since my last warmup was pretty light and my first attempt was deliberately very conservative. I had 285 lbs on the bar, as suggested by Keith Hobman. An easy weight to get a feel for the judging and the meet, etc. I had spent some time at my gym training facing away from the mirror (so I had to gauge depth by feel) which had definitely helped. Not a big issue since I squat high bar rock bottom but still different to squat without a mirror for feedback. Oh yeah, I was about the only lifter I saw all day NOT wearing a squat suit and a power belt. Just a t-shirt, a crappy leather belt, and my singlet. In fact, I was one of the few (if not the only) lifter who didn't have equipment for each event (squat suit for squat, bench suit for bench, DL suit for deadlift). At this point in the game, I just can't bring myself to invest that kind of money for something that was basically for fun. For those not familiar with PL competition squat form, here's the primer. You have to unrack the bar yourself, walk it back and set up under control (knees locked, under control of the bar). The head judge then gives you a verbal 'Squat' command at which point you squat until you reach parallel (defined typically as hip bone below the level of the knee or lower) and then come back up. You have to wait for a verbal 'Rack' command before walking the bar back into the rack. Most common cause of red lighting is not hitting depth but I had seen some guys get called for lunging for the rack before getting the 'Rack' command. Anyway, 285 flew up for 3 whites, even being rushed out of the warmup room. I decided to jump to 325 which is 10 lbs below my best gym lift. I had seen too many people missing second attempts in the previous flights by jumping too heavy and I was more interested in getting a good lift in than not. It went up pretty easily as well. I should mention that one of the judges even told me I had 'nice depth' because I was about the only guy going rock bottom on my squats. I had decided early on that I didn't mind being red lighted on a lift for not making a lift but I wasn't gonna get called for something dumb like not making depth or an unpaused bench or anything silly like that. 325 went up relatively easily as well for 3 more white lights. After the 325, I had a choice. Given my druthers, I would have taken 345, 10 lbs above my best gym lift. But because of the kilo conversion, I had to choose between 340 and 350. 325 went up easily enough that I figured 350 would be cake. Turned out I was wrong. I got stalled right in the middle and the spotters had to take it. I was a bit disappointed because I know 340 would have gone up, and I had just given up 15 lbs in an attempt to get the 350. Ah well, all part of the learning experience and it would be my only missed lift. After squats were over, it was time for a sandwich and a banana and then about a 2 hour wait, watching the other lifters, before the bench press. The bench ------------- Now, bench is by far my weakest lift, always has been. Long arms coupled with terrible triceps development makes it a bad lift for me. That and having ignored it for so long because I was no good at it. Anyway, I started warmups a bit earlier this time, to avoid making the same mistake from the squats. As I said above, I was about the only guy not wearing a bench suit and one lifter even commented on it, asking me if I wasn't wearing one. Point being it's currently that odd for someone NOT to wear gear that I was the standout. PL bench rules are as follows. You unrack the bar (either by yourself or with a spotter) and wait for a verbal 'Begin' or 'Bench' command. You lower the bar under control to your chest, where you have to show a visible pause (the bar has to be motionless on your chest) and then press it back up. You have to wait for the 'Rack' command prior to putting the bar away. Commonest causes of red lights are not pausing on the chest (PL rules used to mandate that the head judge give a 'Bench' command but it was discontinued ; some lifters had their coach give a verbal command instead). Oh yeah, one thing that bugged me came during the rules meeting. We were informed that USPF rules had been changed so that lifting the head off the bench was no longer grounds for red lighting, neither was a slight shuffling of the feet. Both are a change from standard Pl rules and I don't think such changes are a good idea, especially when they happen on a nearly annual basis. First attempt was a very conservative 195 lbs. The judges had been strict but not mean about enforcing the pause. I had been training with a solid pause anyhow so it was the least of my concerns. My main concern was stalling in the middle which is my weak point (because of my triceps). After 195 went up, I jumped to 215, which is 5 lbs below my best gym lift. As with squats, I was more concerned with getting a good lift in. I could use my third lift for a new PR. 215 went up easily enough so I went with 230 for my last attempt, a 10 lb PR over the gym. It nearly stalled in the middle but I ground it up for 3 white lights. I don't think anything heavier would have gotten through the middle. But it tells me what to work on before my next meet. ;) One amusing tangent (well, to me at least) during the bench press. Sitting next to one of the guys in my flight and he looks over and goes "Lyle McDonald, right?" Yup. "Are you the guy who did all the research on ketogenic diets?" Yup. My infamy follows me everywhere apparently. But I digress. Tangent: at the subtotal ------------------------------ So after 2 lifts, I was 5 for 6 in terms of good lifts and had a 555 subtotal. Since totalling 1000 was out of the question at this point, I decided that I wanted at least 900 which meant at least a 345 in the deadlift (my best gym lift was 335 so that would require a PR lift). Keith had assured me that my DL would jump at the meet but after my squats, I wasn't 100% sure. Another sandwich and banana and then another 2 hour wait. The deadlift --------------- As the saying goes, the meet doesn't start until the bar hits the floor. The deadlift is perhaps the simplest of all the lifts and the one where folks tend to make up a lot of ground poundages. It's also probably the hardest of the three lifts, effort wise. Rules are relatively simple: approach the bar, lift it up. Well, it's a little more complicated: you can't hitch the bar up your legs (letting the bar rest), you have to lock your legs with your shoulders back at the top, and wait for the verbal 'Down' command before lowering the bar under control. At Keith's suggestion, I started with a conservative 315 on the bar. Went up pretty easily for 3 whites so I jumped to 335 which was equal to my best gym lift. I wanted to make sure that would go up before going for the 355 plus needed to break 900. It did for 3 more white lights. I was a bit unsure about my 3rd lift. Keith thought I had 375-395 in me but I wasn't sure about that. So I took 365 instead. This was a fairly big time PR (Last time I even tried 365 was years ago and it was ugly form wise and didn't go up anyhow). I was a bit nervous approaching the bar because making it would be a PR and put me over the 900 mark, but missing it would put me below 900. It was difficult but not impossible and I ground it up for 3 white lights. I might have made more, I might not have. Again, I was more interested in making the lift, breaking 900 than getting too agressive and missing another lift. Just saw too many people making unrealistic jumps (like I had on squats) and missing. One poor guy started his squat attempts too high and didn't make a single squat, bombing him out of the meet (you have to make at least one of each lift to get a total score). Summing up -------------- So that's the story of my first PL meet. I made 8 out of 9 attempts, set two PR's, and made my goal of breaking 900 lbs. I also met some cool people, had a fun day, and got to watch some impressive lifting (including some state and American record attempts, and successes, by some of the lifters). Elzi and I had then had a great dinner at one of her client's restaurants: Soilitas in Seguin. Fajitas were excellent. Oh yeah, then I came home and slept like a log. And now I have a new goal: cracking 1000 in the 165s'. Maybe at AAU's in San bernardino in August with the rest of team MFW. Lyle